Thirties

By the time women hit their 30s, many find that they feel secure in their careers and have a more mature outlook on life which benefits child rearing.

Research by the National Institute of Aging and the National Institute of Natural Health found that women who delay having children until their thirties are often healthier than younger mothers.

Linda Jones, 41, is mum to 11-year-old twins Emily and Melissa. A journalist and public relations specialist, Jones said that now she wishes she had had her children at a younger age.

‘I've often thought about what it has meant to me to have had my children aged 30, and if anyone had asked me before I had them, I would have said it was a perfect age,’ said Linda.

‘Nothing I will ever achieve in my professional life will ever match the joy my daughters have brought me. I would have liked to have realised this at a younger age by having them a good five years earlier.’

‘Early thirties is a good age to have children. After the age of 37, women have more difficulty in conceiving and other complications can arise,’ said Atalla.